The essential oil craze has hit us. Everybody is getting into these power punch home remedies that not only work, they smell good and set the scene for your home; whether it’s using frankincense for meditation, diffusing the joyful blend to uplift your home or dabbing lavender for itches. Essential oils enhance your body’s gifted ability to heal itself without seriously harming it. Pretty cool.
I was in the “Do they really work that well?” camp myself when first introduced to them so I completely get the hesitations people have around them, it is just an oil right!? Nope, oils are so powerful. Essential oils are derived from plants, as a naturopath, I use quite a lot of plant extracted items as healing remedies for my clients, essential oils are incredibly concentrated extracts from plants and contain the active constituents that help the body heal. My biggest hesitation was how safe they were to be given out to the general public considering their potency and the claim that you can digest certain oils baffled me. Like all new learning experiences, I had to let go of my rigid thinking and give it a go and have found them to be a great contribution to a health and wellness routine. If you are starting out, here are some basics to get you comfy using them.
- Relax cramps, sores and tense muscles.
The oils that come from fragrant plants like peppermint or rosemary can do wonders for relieving muscle pains like those in your shoulders or calves. Other oils like chamomile are also good for combating inflammation. Adding lavender oil and epsom salts to a warm bath helps to soothe muscles, release toxins and replenish minerals to the body.
- Healthy cooking and cleaning ingredients.
Ah, the refreshing smell of orange and lemon essential oils… not only are they great sources of Vitamin C, they add a wonderful fragrance when used as a substitute for zest. Try experimenting with them sometime. It might just put a few more original recipes under your belt! Asides from that, you can also apply that same fragrance to plain dishwashing soap while getting rid of stickier foodstuffs. And let’s not forget, we here in Australia also have good ‘ol eucalyptus oil in abundance! Eucalyptus leaves your home smelling fresh if you add a few drops to filtered water and clean hard to get off marks off furniture and disinfect your kitchen area with it. Tea tree oil is also great for cleaning, a few drops to water and it can remove texta marks off leather lounges and markings from wood furniture.
- Cleansing and detoxifying your bodies digestive system.
A few drops of ginger oil for stomach aches really does the trick for tummy issues brought about by indigestion or constipation. There are also other oils, like Geranium, that have powerful detoxifying properties when massaged around the stomach area. Clove and lemongrass are known for soothing the digestive tract too.
- Easy aromatherapy (even without a diffuser).
Diffusers help spread more of an oil’s healing aroma into a larger space and therefore impact more people however you can still reap the benefits with a whiff straight from the bottle of aromatic oils. Simply smelling the vapors of essential oils carries health benefits, like alleviating allergies and unclogging a stuffy nose. Diffusers are my favourite way to use oils. The smell immediately helps you feel calm and clear, lavender peace and balance, either combined or on their own are great for a fresh hint to your home or work and also help calm and ground those in that environment, its a great way to calm kids ready for bedtime and the balance blend is a great start to the day. I also love having the joyful blend diffusing in my office when I can feel a little snowed under with work. It helps me lift into a joyous place and not get heavy with tasks.
If you are choosing to use oils topically, try placing a small dap onto the soles of your feet and back of your neck to absorb the benefits rapidly. Check in with your local oil specialist for more handy tips as you get comfortable with them.
Big love friends x
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